It's true. Hamels' beard will probably never grow long enough to have its own Twitter account,
but can you imagine what he might look like come September if the
above picture is his motivation for the Phillies to make a playoff
push?

This photo (screengrabbed from the Phillies website) is evidence of Hamels' final spring training start on March 27 against the Detroit Tigers.
He allowed just one hit, one walk and struck out three in three innings
of work. But forget the stats (or should we?). The first thing you
notice is that bush on his face. He told Todd Zolecki of MLB.com it's
"hurting the appearance." Says he's going to shave it soon.

But
Cole should reconsider. Just look what that beard did for his spring
training. 3-0. 0.95 ERA. 15 strikeouts in 19 innings of work over 5
starts.

Need more proof that whiskers win? Just look at the evidence. Aaron Cook also grew a beard and has just a 3.38 ERA. But Cliff Lee trimmed back the hair and his Grapefruit League ERA is at 5.94. Baby- faced Jonathan Papelbon is at 9.82. And beardless John Lannan got obliterated by the Blue Jays in his last start on Monday.

Tebow has a better record than Manning

Did you know: Tim Tebow has a better winning percentage as a starting quarterback in the playoffs than Peyton Manning does.

With Ryan Howard, Placido Polanco and Chase Utley all injured, the Phillies plan to stuff Jimmy Rollins in bubble-wrap until Opening Day.

I'm reasonably certain that the Daytona 500 has in fact finally ended.

Love the Sixers but as they are currently constructed, they'll never get past the second round of the playoffs. They need to dangle Andre Iguodala to land a center, as starter Spencer Hawes' health is less reliable than that of a Phillies infielder.

And finally, I've got Chris Christie at minus-4 to be somewhere on the Republican national ticket. See you at the convention.

Phillies outfielder was in the house for the 2012 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic. Victorino met with some of the Flyers before the game, including NHL points leader Claude Giroux. Even though he grew up in Hawaii, Victorino has become a hockey fan. “I tried [skating] as a kid but wasn’t vetry successful,” he said. “That sport didn’t last too long for Shane.” Victorino also said he’s passing up the Phillies team skate at the ballpark this week. “You will not see Shane on skates,” he said. “Shane will

Lohan out, Dykstra in for celebrity boxing match

Before Bernie Madoff reported to the big house, he reportedly hired a prison coach for advice on how to survive life behind bars.

The same type of service would probably serve Lenny Dykstra quite well -- if he could afford the fees. But for the time being, it seems like Lenny might be in need of the services of a different kind of coach.

The former Phillies outfielder is reportedly set to go toe-to-toe in a celebrity boxing match on Saturday against none other than Jose Canseco.The card also includes other 'celebs' like Joey Buttafuco, Octomom, Kato Kaelin, Coolio and Tareq Salahi.

"Canseco ruined my career by spreading lies," Dykstra said in a press release from Filmon.com. "I called Tareq and begged him to let me take his place in the upcoming fight against Canseco."

As if steroid allegations are Dykstra's biggest problem...

Last month the man who used to go by the moniker "Nails" changed his plea from not guilty to no contest on charges of auto theft and providing a false financial statement. The 48-year-old faces up to four years in prison as part of that deal.

Dykstra and two co-defendants are accused of trying to lease and then sell high-end cars from several car dealerships in January by claiming credit through a phony business.

In exchange for changing his plea, prosecutors dropped more than a dozen other charges against Dykstra.

Thoughts about what we'll call total loss weekend for Philly sports fans:

-- It's only a nasty rumor that Mayor Nutter has ordered 24-hour patrols on Philly's bridges. He has, though, banned all sales of sharp objects until spring training.

-- Wouldn't want to be Juqua Parker right about now.

-- Or Jason Avant.

-- Not to mention Juan Castillo.

-- Nothing personal, but TV execs are now looking to flex the Eagles off their night games.

-- They say it takes time for a team with new players to gel. At this pace, the Eagles with threaten in December ... 2017.

-- I'm going to guess that no more than 1.4 percent of television owners in the Philadelphia market will be watching the National League Championship Series. I've got it at 0.9 percent for the World Series.

-- Hey, how about those Texas Rangers? Keep it going and someday Ian Kinsler will be almost as recognizable as Chuck Norris.

-- Stat of the weekend: 73.4 percent of all homeowners in heretofore rain-drenched Pennsylvania mowed their lawns on Saturday. The remaining 26.6 percent did so on Sunday.

TOP 8 REASONS TO WORRY ABOUT THE PHILLIES IN THE PLAYOFFS

Sure, the Phillies have won 100 games this season, but lately they've been losing more than the stock market.

Here are eight reasons why Phillies' fans should be very concerned about their team once the National League playoffs begin this weekend:

(8) The longer the season, the older they look.(7) Bullpen has more issues than the economy.(6) Chase Utley's last good game was over the holiday weekend -- the Memorial Day weekend.(5) Brad Lidge's fastball now tops out at the overnight low.(4) It takes two singles and a double in the gap to score Ryan Howard from first.(3) Antonio Bastardo's ERA has shot up faster than the rainfall total.(2) Last I checked, team doctors will not allow Charlie Manuel to start Roy Halladay or Cliff Lee every game.(1) Even the Eagles linebackers are hitting harder than the Phillies these days.

TIME TO DEMOTE CHASE UTLEY

When Chase Utley returns, the Phillies should drop him to No. 6 in the batting order.

Utley, the hardest-hustling player in the business, is showing wear and tear from all those years of going 100 percent, even when running out routine groundouts.

Move All-Star Placido Polanco to No. 3, and that also will give the Phillies a better righty-lefty balance, which is crucial late in the game and especially in the playoffs.

Here's the recommended new lineup: Rollins (switch-hitter), Victorino (switch-hitter), Polanco (R), Howard (L), Pence (R), Utley (L), Ibanez (L)-Mayberry (R) platoon, Ruiz (R), pitcher. (The result is that there are no two lefthanded hitters in a row unless Ibanez starts against a righthanded pitcher.)--

ELSEWHERE:

Item: Texans thrash Colts, 34-7. Looks like Indianapolis really did miss replay review coordinator Jim Tressel.--I see where they're now making reality shows on how they make reality shows. Makes me long for the days of Manimal and Leno at 10 p.m.--And finally, today's key numbers in the world of sports:4: The percentage of American adults who give a slam-dunk about the NBA lockout.7: The percentage of American adults who even knew there was an NBA lockout.

PIRATES TAKE AIM AT NATIONAL LEAGUE'S BEST

Gene Collier of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette came out with a column today in which he talks about how trying the rest of July will be for the Pirates (50-44). Following three games each against Cincinnati (47-49) and St. Louis (50-45) at home, the Bucs travel to Atlanta (57-39) for four and Philadelphia (59-36) for three more.

After beating the Reds last night, 2-0, the Pirates are alone in first place in the NL Central. They haven’t led the division this late in the season since 1992 — the last time they made the playoffs (and had a winning season of any kind). While it is certainly true that this next stretch will be challenging, expect Pittsburgh to come through alive and feisty on the other side.

This team is a combined 8-2 against Cincinnati and St. Louis and has passed tests before in 2011. Boston and Philadelphia — two teams many think will make World Series appearances this fall — have both been to Pittsburgh. In each case, the road favorite lost two out of three, ceding the series to a Pirates team that finally has drawn widespread attention.

Don’t believe that last bit? Check out ESPN this coming Monday night. It’s Pittsburgh vs. Atlanta, and the former team doesn’t get that type of coverage often.

The Pirates will be more than a little excited. It’s the first game of a big series, being played in front of a national television audience. It also brings a chance for redemption, as the Braves swept a two-game series in late-May — the Bucs have gone 28-18 since.

Wouldn’t it be something if the Pirates battered the Braves — the team that knocked them out of the NLCS in 1991 and 1992 — on their way to such an unlikely postseason berth?

Once they’re done in Atlanta, the Pirates head to Citizens Bank Park to play their cross-state rivals. The Phillies have enjoyed lots of success lately, and nobody is more aware of it than your average Pirates fan.

But that guy must like his team’s chances at this point, though, especially the way his team has been winning. Pittsburgh is 9-5 in July and has not lost a series in a month.

It’s very possible the surprising Pirates will still be in first come Aug. 1.

THE TOP 10 ATHLETES WHO WEAR EYEGLASSES

Rookie Vance Worley pitches tonight for the Phillies against the Mets, and he's had a superb year on the mound in the limited number of times he has started.

Many will note that Worley wears eyeglasses, a rarity these days in professional and collegiate sports in terms of correcting their vision. Worley has said that he just is not able to place contact lenses into his eyes, and that's why he opts for eyeglasses.

In honor of Worley, we've put together our all-time top 10 list of athletes who wore or wear eyeglasses or goggles on the field of play. (This list is not for athletes who wore them primarily for protection but rather to correct their vision.)